Bucks struggling on both ends, Brooks nips Skiles for COY, and the future of Stack

JS: Bucks' offense sputters in first two games of series
Charles Gardner has a piece over at the JS on the Bucks' offensive problems over the past two games.

"Sometimes the switching (defense) has caused him to shoot step-back shots," Skiles said. "In Game 2, he missed a couple early and that can cause him to be a little less aggressive.

"He's made a lot of progress with that, and there are a lot of (film) clips where you can see his opportunities."

Delfino played better in Game 2 with eight points, six rebounds and four assists, although his outside shot was not falling.

"We had several reverse layups by John and Carlos where they couldn't block our shot," Skiles said. "In this type of series, there's more pressure on our perimeter people. We need to relax, come out and play our normal game and see where that leads us."

The Bucks offense has managed just 102.6 pts/100 possessions over the past two games, down a bit from the 104.9 pts/100 the Bucks averaged over the course of the season.  But--and I know I'm a broken record at this point--the defense has been even worse, surrendering 114.2 pts/100 compared to just 103 during the regular season.  In case you're wondering, the second ranked Hawks offense averaged a shade under 112 pts/100 during the regular season.

The Bratwurst: Googling the Bucks' surprising season
Jeramey put together a very cool Google search-style ad for the Bucks season.

Brooks edges Skiles for Coach of the Year
As many had expected, OKC's Scott Brooks took home coach of the year honors, beating Scott Skiles by a final point total of 480 to 313.  Nate McMillan rounded out the top three, making it a clean sweep for point guards from the early '90s.

BBJ: Bucks making it easy for the Hawks
J.D. Mo knows the Bucks real problems are on defense, and not all of that can be blamed on Bogut's absence.

Two games into this playoffs series, just about the last thing I expected to write was this: The Bucks aren’t challenging the Hawks’ shots and they’re lacking focus. They’ve hardly resembled the defensive team the NBA is used to.

Scott Skiles’ constant pressure defense has a few basic principles. Constant pressure on the ball, no switching on picks (the fight-through pick rule) and show help/don’t leave your man. The intended result of these activities is a sticky defensive stew in which the Bucks should be in position to tightly contest shooters. The consequence of not contesting shots is usually a seat on the bench.

Bucks Beat: Stackhouse possibly returning?
John Hammond isn't exactly promising to re-sign Jerry Stackhouse, but he's saying the usual nice things.  And deservedly so--though Stackhouse's overall numbers are nothing to write home about, he's often carried the Bucks second unit for 6-8 minute stretches and it's tough to argue against the value of a savvy veteran on a minimum contract who can still fill it up every week or two.

"I think that maybe Jerry is kind of thinking about that right now, thinking about the possibility of playing (another season)," Hammond said. "We really haven’t talked in great detail exactly what his plans are. He’s a guy that if he would consider coming back, of course we would consider him."